OF  THE 


CANAL  COMMISSIONERS, 


COMMUNICATED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE', 


PRINTED  BY  J.  BUEL,  PRINTER  TO  THE  STATE. 
1820. 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Si  y\k  >i  r  B.  Durst  Old  York  Liurary 


To  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New-  York :  hi 
obedience  to  the  act,  entitled  Ck  Jn  act  respecting 
navigable  communications  between  the  great  West- 
ern and  Northern  Lakes  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean" 
passed  April  \5ih,  1IU7,  the  Canal  Commissioners 
most  respect  fully  Report — - 

In  reference  to  the  Erie  Canal, — 

That  the  middle  section  thereof  has  been  so 
far  completed,  during  the  past  season,  that  large 
boats  have  actually  navigated  it,  for  the  distance  of 
seventy-five  miles:  and  nothing  has  hindered  such 
navigation  through  >ut  the  residue  of  the  sect  i  n, 
for  several  weeks  previously  to  the  meeting  of  y«.ur 
honorable  body,  hut  the  getting  in  of  frost.  The 
important  fact  of  the  accuracy  of  the  levels,  from 
one  end  to  the  other,  of  this  section,  has  been  ascer- 
tained, by  t'se  most  satisfactory  and  infallible  proof 
— the  admission  of  water.  And  when  it  is  rt  mem. 
bered  that  the  length  of  our  Rome  summit  is  now 
extended  to  near  sixty  miles,  this  result,  so  gratify- 
ing on  every  account,  cannot  fail  to  beget  strong 
confidence  in  the  skill,  and  a  just  praise  for  the 
care,  of  our  engineer. 

Having  now  witnessed  the  completion  of  a  great 
number  and  variety  of  canal  c  infracts,  with  con- 
stant and  anxious  attention  to  the  mode  of  their  ex- 
ecution, in  every  stage  of  their  progress,  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  all  the  benefits  suggested  by 


Ht  I 

experience,  we  expect,  hereafter,  considerable  irn- 
provi  merits  in  the  maimer  of  conducting  our  labors. 
For  a  resolute  ambition  of  success,  and  the  appli- 
cati  d  of  vigorous  industry,  we  cannot  hope  that 
an  equal  number  of  nu  n  will  ever  be  more  dist in- 
guisLed  than  those  who  have  hitherto  been  employ- 
ed. 

We  have  found,  that  in  removing  common  earth, 
where  the  depth  does  not  exceed  four  or  five  feet, 
and  the  ground  js  dry,  t  e  plough  and  scraper  can 
be  used  to  greater  profit  than  any  other  means  of 
excavation  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  And 
the  banks  which  are  constiucted  with  scrapeis,  from 
feeing  constantly  and  uniformly  h  ave  lied  over  by 
the  cattle  and  men,  dining  the  time  required  to 
raise  and  form  them,  are  so  thoroughly  compacted 
as  to  be  not  much  in  danger  of  injurious  settling, 
after  they  are  once  completed.  A  great  proportion 
of  our  work  has  heretofore  been  performed  with 
these  instruments.  But  as  both  the  western  and 
eastern  sections  of  the  canal,  will  pass  through  but 
little  wet  land,  in  comparison  with  that  which  is 
traversed  by  the  middle,  the  use  of  them  hereafter 
Tvill  be  much  increased. 

It  was  determined  by  the  canal  commissioners* 
-when  they  entered  on  the  construction  of  the  canal, 
that  the  inside  slope  of  the  banks  should  be  such, 
that  a  foot  perpendicular  rise  should  ^ive  not  less 
than  eighteen  inches  horizontal  base.  This  slope 
is  often  adopted  in  England  ;  and  in  earth  unapt  to 
slip,  it  will  answer  ;  but  in  clay,  in  light  earth,  espe- 
cially if  it  contains  much  water,  and  wherever  sand 
predominates,  a  greater  slope  is  expedient, 


The  inside  slope  of  the  banks  through  the  middle 
section,  is  generally  such  as  that  above  indicated* 
There  are  however  several  places  where  it  is  great- 
er. And  it  is  our  intention  for  the  future,  except 
where  peculiar  c  ircu instances  forbid,  to  increase  the 
slope.  For  besides  diminishing  the  danger  of  hav- 
ing the  banks  slide  into  the  bottom  ef  the  canal,  by 
diminishing  their  acclivity^,  it  requires  but  little  ob- 
servation to  become  convince  d,  thai  stlcfa  diminution 
lessens  the  labour  of  forming  the  banks.  This  is 
true,  when  the  banks  are  formed  by  shovelling  and 
wheeling,  but  it  is  eminently  so  when  the  work  is 
done  by  ploughing  and  scraping.  A  slope,  of  a 
foot  rise  to  eighteen  inches  ba^e,  is  so  strep,  that  it 
is  difficult  to  drive  cattle  or  horses  up  it,  with  a 
loaded  scraper  behind  thern:  and  a?  the  excavation 
approaches  the  bottom  of  the  canal,  the  difficulty 
of  this  operation  greatly  increases.  Indeed,  where 
scrapers  have  been  used,  the  excavation  from  the 
bottom  of  the  canal,  at  the  edges  has  been  left  un- 
finished, with  the  adjoining  banks  also  unfinished 
and  very  sloping,  so  that  much  labour  with  spades 
and  shovels,  was  afterwards  necessary  to  take  out 
ihe  earth  from  the  boitom,  and  place  it  in  the  face 
of  the  banks,  at  the  top,  in  order  to  their  comple- 
tion :  Or,  if  this  labour  with  spades  and  shovels 
was  saved,  ihe  earth  in  the  bottom  of  the  canal  at 
the  edges,  was  ploughed  up,  and  the  scrapers,  after 
being  loaded  by  drawing  them  lengthwise  of  the 
canal  on  the  bottom,  were  drawn  up  the  banks,  at 
places  of  easy  ascent  left  in  them,  about  ten  rods 
apart,  for  the  purpose,  and  after  arriving  at  the  top^ 
were  drawn  lengthwise  of  the  canal,  lor  some  dis- 


6 


tance,  arid  then  unloaded  on  (he  inner  brow  of  the 
bank. 

This  last  mode  of  completing  the  excavation  and 
giving  shape  lb  [be  hanks,  has  been  found  the  most 
economical;  hut  to  both  model  the  danger  of  slips 
is  equally  incidental,  and  greater  than  it  is  where 
the  banks  are  formed  by  wheel  barrows;  becuu^e, 
in  both  the  loose  eailh,  which  is  required  to  finish 
the  inside  face  of  the  bank  at  the  top,  is  always  laid 
upon  a  sloping  and  hard  trodden  suifice,  with 
Which  it  will  not  ?pe(  (lily  form  a  solid  connection. 

Horses  and  cattle  can  draw  loaded  scrapeis,  w  ith- 
out much  inconvenience,  up  a  bank  of  which  the 
slope  is  such  as  to  give  a  base  of  two  feet  to  a  rise  of 
one  fool:  and  if  the  face  of  the  bank  is  left  hard,  as 
it  will  be  made  by  being  travelled  on  in  the  process 
of  its  construction  with  the  sc  raper,  there  will  re- 
main no  doubt  of  its  retaining  its  shape  with  very 
little  impression  from  heavy  rains.  This  is  an  ad- 
vantage of  great  importance,  as  it  respects  the  ex- 
pense of  repairs  and  the  preservation  of  the  beauty 
of  the  canal :  and  the  increased  slope,  by  giving  a 
width  of  surface  at  the  top  water-line  four  feet 
greater  than  would  be  afforded  by  the  slope  origi- 
nally adopted,  w  ill  also  add  to  the  facility  of  mo- 
tion on  the  canal. 

Wherever  the  canal  line  crosses  lands  abounding 
in  springs,  or  very  w  et  from  any  other  cause,  but  so 
situated  as  to  admit  of  draining,  the  spade  and 
wheel  barrow7  are  indispensible  utensils,  in  any  com- 
mon depth  of  digging;  and  one  of  our  contract- 
ors, Mr.  Jeremiah  Brainard  of  Rome,,  has  invented 
a  wheel  barrow  which,  without  being  moreexpen- 


5 


sive  than  those  in  common  use,  is  acknowledged  by 
all  who  have  seen  it  to  be  greatly  superior  to  them. 
Its  advance s  consist  in  its  being  lighter,  more  du- 
rable, and  much  easier  to  unload. 

Experience  has  convinced  us,  that  after  the  grub- 
bing and  clearing  is  done,  it  is  most  judicious  to  car- 
ry the  excavation,  wherever  it  is  begun,  as  soon  as 
may  be  to  the  bottom ;  and  as  the  work  advances  to 
complete  every  part  of  the  canal. 

Many  jobs 'on  the  middle  section  have  had  three 
fourths,  and  often  larger  portions  of  the  digging  per- 
formed, and  the  banks  nearly  raised,  but  left  with 
the  earth  sloping  inwards  from  their  outer  extremi- 
ty, after  which  the  contractor  has  transferred  his  la- 
bor to  other  parts  of  the  job,  intending  to  bring  the 
whole  into  a  similar  state,  and  then  to  finish  his 
work  by  taking  out  the  residue  of  the  bottom,  giv- 
ing it  the  proper  width,  and  dressing  off  the  banks* 
From  this  course  of  management  much  evil  has  en- 
sued. The  excavation  from  the  bottom,  after  bak- 
ing for  months  in  the  sun,  has  alwavs  been  found 
much  more  difficult,  ti  e  amount  of  yards  has  been 
materially  increased  by  an  unnecessary  wa^h  fr>m 
the  banks, the  labor  m  ce^sary  to  complete  the  banks 
has  been  augmented  and  after  such  labor  has  been 
bestowed,  there  is  less  beauty  in  the  whole  work, 
and  it  is  more  liab!e  to  injury.  These  evils  will  all 
be  obviated,  by  completing  the  canal  with  as  little 
delay  a-  possible  after  the  ground  :s  broken. 

In  all  cases  it  is  essential,  that  care  should  be  ta- 
ken to  secure  a  sufficient  <  rath  from  every  par t  of 
ti  e  excavation,  otherwise  the  most  injurious  inter- 
ruptions will  be  sufficed  from  every  shower.  No 


person  without  experience  ran  be  fully  aware  of 
the  disadvantages  01  laboring  in  wet  earth,  If  is 
luurh  heavier,  more  tenacious  and  more  slippiy 
than  dry,  and  of  course  harder  to  load,  harder 
to  remove,  and  harder  to  unload:  and  arter  it 
is  unload  d  into  a  bank,  much  of  it  will  rnn 
down  so  as  to  require  a  second  removal  The 
laborers  who  work  in  i!  destroy  more  il«  thes,  live 
more  expensively,  are  more  exposed  to  sickness, 
and  require  higher  wages,  than  other  labourers  ;  the 
cattle  and  horses  sooner  fail,  and  there  is  more  wear 
and  leerol  every  implement.  Hardly  any  expense 
should  be  avoided,  winch  is  necessary  to  provide 
good  draining.  Some  of  our  contractors  have  not 
been  duly  Bgneible  of  f his,  and  have  lost  more  or 
less  in  consequence.  By  opening  a  dram  wherever 
the  excavati  n  is  begun,  and  by  completing  the  ca- 
nal as  the  work  advent  1  s,  the  benefits  of  an  ample 
dr.un  will  be  secured  to  every  part  of  the  line. 

But  this  course  of  proceeding  will  also  produce 
other  good  consequences.  Tbe  amount  of  money 
earned  by  the  contractors,  from  the  time  of  one 
payment  to  another,  may  be  more  accurately  and 
easily  estimated.  The  contractor  will  more  readily 
understand  the  exact  condition  of  I  is  business,  as 
to  profit  and  loss,  and  the  workmen  will  be  better 
able  to  secure  themselves  agVmst  frauds  or  insol- 
vency, in  their  employers.  With  the  greatest  care 
to  ascertain  the  quality  of  ihe  excavation  in  any 
given  section  of  the  canal,  previous  to  its  beinsj  let 
out,  it  is  i  possible  to  provide  against  the  occur- 
rence of  unforeseen  obstructions  in  the  earth,  which 
must  be  paid  fur  at  an  equitable  valuation,  after 


9 

they  shall  be  disclosed  and  overcome.  The  prac- 
tice of  completing  tlr  canal  as  abuvementioned, 
would  render  these  variations  m>re  satisfactory  to 
all  parties,  because  the  precise  nature  and  extent  of 
such  obstructions  would  be  more  clearly  perceived, 
and  the  labor  laid  out  upon  them  would  be  more 
easily  distinguished  from  other  labor. 

Our  efforts  have  n  w  bnen  continued  so  long, 
have  embraced  so  great  a  variety  of  ope?  at  ions, 
and  have  actually  given  us  an  excellent  na\ igation, 
for  so  great  a  distance,  that  we  suppose  the  public 
mind  is  fully  satisfied  of  the  practicability  of  the 
canals. 

The  original  estimate  of  the  middle  section,  ex- 
tending from  Utica  to  the  Seneca  river,  in  the  ag- 
gregate amounted  to  g],021,851 
The  real  cost  of  its  construction  has  been  $1,125,983 
Making  an  excess  of  expenditure  over 

the  estimate  of  $104,132 
a  little  more  than  ten  per  cent. 

This  excess  has  been  produced  chiefly  by  the 
following  causes  : 

I.  The  width  of  water  in  the  canal, in  all  cases  of 
embankment,  was  originally  intended  to  be  only 
thirty  feet  at  the  surface,  and  the  estimate  was  made 
accordingly.  These  embankments  have,  however, 
all  been  made  so  as  to  give  the  common  width  of 
forty  feet  at  the  surface.  This  alteration  has  very- 
much  increased  the  quantity  of  earth  in  those  em- 
bankments which  required  filling  in  at  the  bottom; 
and  as  all  the  large  embankments  are  of  this  charac- 
ter, it  has  added  considerably  to  their  expense.  It 
was  not  adopted  without  mature  deliberation  and  a 

2 


JO 


strong  conviction  of  its  being  judicious.  It  was 
found  that  aqm  ducts,  road  bridges,  farm  bridges, 
and  a  few  other  unavoidable  causes  of  contracting 
the  width  of  the  canal  nere  of  such  fiequent  occur- 
rence along  the  line,  as  to  make  it  very  desirable, 
for  the  sake  of  presenting  no  unnecessary  obstruc- 
tion to  motion  through  the  water,  to  precerve  the 
ordinary  width  in  all  places  where  it  w  as  practicable. 

The  plan  of  several  oi  the  more  artificial  works 
has  been  alte  red,  always  it  is  believed  for  the  bet- 
ter, but  so  as  to  render  them  more  expensive.  Of 
this  chss  are  the  following,  to  wit,  The  aqueduct 
over  Oneida  creek.  This  was  originally  calculated 
to  be  made  of  wood — it  is  constructed  of  solid  ma- 
sonry. The  aqueduct  over  the  Onondaga  creek 
lias  been  greatly  enlarged.  It  is  built  entirely  of 
stone. 

The  aqueduct  over  Nine-mile  creek  was  original- 
ly intended  to  consist  of  stone  abutments  and  piers 
with  a  wooden  trunk.  It  is  constructed  exclusively* 
of  stone,  and  has  been  much  enlarged  by  raising  the 
level  of  the  canal  at  that  place  eleven  feet. 

At  th  ^  Skeneateles  outlet  the  original  estimate 
embraced  a  dam,  which  has  since  been  superseded 
by  an  aqueduct  of  solid  stone  work,  which  is  also 
raised  eleven  feet  above  the  original  level.  The 
aqueduct  across  the  Ovvasco  creek  has  been  much 
enlarged,  and  a  wooden  trunk  has  been  displaced 
for  stone  arches. 

II.  Waste-weirs  have  been  constructed  in  various 
places,  where  it  was  believed  no  sufficient  provi- 
sion c  »  Id  otherwise  be  had  to  discharge  the  sur- 
plus waters  with  which  the  canal  would  be  filled  by 


II 


the  spring  floods:  and  the  aggregate  extent  of  these 
is  about  two  «h  usa  d  fe-t. 

III.  The  most  prolific  source  of  unforeseen  ex- 
pense- has  been  found  in  hard  excavation  ;  and  this 
we  have  had  in  many  places,  and  in  all  the  varieties 
of  hard-pan,  quick-sand,  breccia,  marl,  gypsum  and 
limestone. 

When  the  canal  line  was  located  by  the  engineer, 
he  dug  or  bored  into  the  earth  in  several  places  on 
every  mile,  to  the  bottom  of  the  canal,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  the  quality  of  the  excavation. 
Upon  information  thus  gained  he  represented  the 
character  of  the  earth  to  be  dug  through,  in  his  sec* 
tional  maps.  And  when  the  commissioners  entered 
into  contracts,  such  maps,  with  the  representations 
contained  in  them,  were  the  basis  of  the  prices  sti- 
pulated to  be  paid  by  them.  But  they  always  gave 
verbal  assurances  to  the  contractors,  that  if  in  the 
progress  of  the  work  it  should  turn  out,  that  the  ex^ 
cavation  was  manifestly  worse  than  it  was  represent- 
ed to  be,  then  they  would  pay  for  the  extra  diffi- 
culty arising  from  that  cause,  such  sum  as  the  engi- 
neer should  deem  reasonable,  over  and  above  the 
stipulated  prices.  Under  such  engagements  large 
sums  have  been  paid. 

1st.  For  hard-pan.  On  many  sections  of  the  ca- 
nal the  earth  has  become  harder,  almost  in  exact 
proportion  to  the  depth  of  excavation  below  the 
surface,  and  often  harder  than  the  earth  bored  or 
dug  through  by  the  engineer.  Such  earth  has  been 
of  several  descriptions :  in  some  places,  a  hard  tena- 
cious clay,  closely  filled  with  numerous  stones;  in 
others,  and  more  frequently,  a  compact  mixture  of 


I? 

3and  and  loam,  very  hard  and  filled  with  hlue  gra- 
y<  \.  Mm  h  of  these  kirn's  of  earth  Las  been  found 
in  such  eondition,  that  the  most  industrious  men 
yrere  unable  to  excavate  more  than  three  yards  in 
twelve  hours. 

2d.  For  quick-sind.  This  is  a  most  unmanagea- 
ble substance,  and  generally  dangerous  win  rev*  r  it 
occurs.  It  has  subjected  us  to  ex'ra  expense  on 
several  sections,  riot  merely  by  the  necessity  which 
it  always  induces,  of  performing  the  excavation  two 
or  thrf  e  times  over,  but  als  i  by  compelling  us,  in  a 
number  of  places  to  make  defences  against  it  of 
tiiuber  and  plunk. 

3d.  For  breceia.  Patches  of  this  have  been  fre- 
quently found,  but  they  have  not  been  large,  ex- 
cept in  a  f^w  places.  The  excavation  of  it  is  gene- 
rally more  difficult  than  almost  any  rock  of  secon- 
dai  v  formation,  and  lias  cost  from  fifty  cents  to  two 
dollars  per  cubic  yard.  The  largest  masses  of  it 
have  been  e  countered  in  places  continually  wet, 
by  ^piin^s  or  small  streams 

4lh.  For  marl.  In  Madison,  Onondaga  and  Cay- 
uga counties,  many  miles  of  t  .e  canal  are  carried 
through  beds  of  tnarl,  which,  when  it  is  first  un- 
covered, is  hard,  and  in  appearance,  stone  of  a 
slaty  structure,  but  which  after  it  is  broken  up 
and  removed  into  the  banks,  by  exposure  to  the 
air,  crumbles,  fit  st  into  small  pieces,  and  finally 
ii  to  a  fine  earth  ;  so  that  no  one  would  imagine, 
after  it  has  been  a  short  time  excavated,  that  it 
ever  offered  any  obstruction  to  the  contractor: 
and  vet  the  excavation  of  it  has  cost  from  thirty 
to  seventy-five  cents  per  cubic  yard. 


13 


5th.  For  gypsum.  Fome  extra  expense  has  been 
incut  red  by  the  excavation  of  gypsum,  on  sec- 
tions 27  23,  59,  and  63. 

Gth.  For  limestone.  This  has  been  found  in  great 
abundance,  on  sections  19,  22,  23,  24,  27,  30,  31, 
32,  33,  37  and  40  ;  and  the  expense  of  removing 
it  has  been  from  thirty  seven  and  a  half  cents  to 
one  dollar  per  cubic  yard. 

As  an  the  eau^e  of  tbe-excess  of  expenditure 
over  estimate,  on  the  middle  section,  may  be  men- 
tioned, 

.IV.  The  want  of  sleighing  ]^st  winter.  We  had 
calculated  upon  great  adva  .  ages  for  l he  delivery 
of  s  vera!  kinds  of  materials,  particularly  tin  ber, 
plank,  lime,  sand  and  stone,  by  si  ighing.  The 
roads  lea<  ing  to  most  pi::ces  wh  re  these  articles 
were  wanted,  are  usually  had  in  ihe  summer  sea* 
son.  Recently  made  over  a  rich  deep  soil,  and 
rou^h  with  frequent  causeways,  it  was  obvious  that 
they  would  be  almost  impassable  with  heavy  loads 
on  wheels.  But  when  the  earth  is  froze q,  ancl  co- 
vered with  a  corii mo n  winter  <i»jpth  of  snow,  such 
road?;  afford  as  good  a  path  as  any  other.  We  had 
tberefj  re  been  at  great  pains  to  <r;ake  contracts  for 
these  articles,  earjj  enough  in  the  fall,  to  enj  >y  the 
expected  benefit  of  sleigbing  for  their  delivery: 
And  much  tabor  had  '^  i*  expended  in  quarrying 
stone,  felling  and  hewing  timber,  sawing  plank, 
burning  lime  and  hiring  t<  ams,  to  make  the  most  of 
thtt  benefit.  But  there  was  no  sleighing  till  the 
beginning  of  March,  and  when  at  last  the  snow  fell, 
it  a  fib  i  ded  us  no  advantag  s.  It  came  in  such  quan- 
tities as  very  soon  to  take  out  the  host  beneath  it, 


11 


and  at  so  lat**  a  period  as  to  be  exposed  to  rapid 
melting  from  the  inline -nee  of  the  BUT).  In  the  coun- 
ties of  Onondaga  and  Cayuga,  where  most  of  the 
materials  were  required,  it  lay  on  the  ground  for 
three  or  four  weeks,  and  was  used  most  of  that  time, 
for  sleighing,  hut  to  no  profit.  The  teams  which 
had  been  engaged,  could  then,  very  few  of  them, 
be  had  ;  for  nobody  is  willing,  Without  strong  ne- 
cessity, to  be  at  the  troubh;  and  expense  of  Tilting 
out  teams  for  a  few  days'  service  of  doublful  emo- 
lument; and  spring  snows  are  seldom  durable. — 
Most  of  the  time  while  the  sleighing  lasted,  all  the 
materials  were  covered  v\  ith  snow,  to  an  inconve- 
nient depth — no  hard  snow  path  could  be  formed — 
and  the  road  was,  in  many  places,  miry.  In  truth, 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  materials  were  delivered 
sleighing ;  and  if  the  following  season  had  not 
been  uncommonly  dry  and  favourable  to  wheeling, 
it  is  probable  that  no  practicable  efforts  could  yet 
have  effected  the  delivery  of  them.  That  our  stone 
structures  might  be  permanent,  we  were  fully  con- 
vinced of  the  great  importance  of  using  large  stone 
in  their  construction.  Accordingly,  those  which 
we  have  had  delivered,  a  great  proportion  of  them 
weigh  from  one  to  three  tons  a  piece,  and  some  of 
them  much  more :  but  the  expense  of  loading  hea- 
vy stones  into  waggons  or  carts,  must  always  be 
greater  than  that  of  loading  them  into  sleds.  From 
the  combined  effects  of  these  causes,  the  delivery 
of  our  materials  has  cost  us  much  more  than  we 
could  reasonably  have  anticipated. 

Yo  To  prepare  the  foundation  of  the  locks  and 


J5 


aqueduds,  has  been  more  difficult  than  was  ex- 
pected. 

In  order  to  give  the  same  depth  of  water  over  the 
lock-sills,  which  is  provided  £>r  elsewhere,  our  man- 
ner of  securing  the  foundation  requires  that  the 
excavation  shall  be  sunk  two  feet  below  the  bottom 
of  the  canal ;  and  in  digging  for  these  foundations, 
in  several  cases,  where  the  earth  down  to  the  bot- 
tom wras  hard  gravel  or  clay,  we  have  found  it  be- 
low that,  and  within  the  limits  of  our  excavation,  to 
be  quicksand.  In  such  cases,  we  have  been  com- 
pelled to  fill  the  bottom  with  bearing  piles.  And 
as  these  bottoms  are  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
feet  long,  by  thirty  six  broad,  this  operation  has 
been  attended  with  great  labour  and  expense. 

At  all  the  places  of  our  principal  aqueducts,  at 
the  locks,  and  at  some  of  the  large  culverts,  the  dif- 
ficulty <;f  constructing  and  maintaining  coffer  dams, 
and  of  bailing  out  the  water,  in  addition  to  that  of 
the  excavation  and  pile-driving,  which  must  neces- 
sarily be  subject  to  many  contingencies,  has  ex- 
ceeded our  calculations. 

VI.  Fencing  the  canal  was  not  included  in  the 
original  estimate  of  the  middle  section ;  and  yet 
we  found  this  indispensable  to  the  security  of  the 
canal,  and  have  actually  completed  it  on  both  sides, 
for  nearly  the  whole  distance. 

VII.  The  water  proof  lime,  which  has  been  used, 
during  the  past  season,  for  the  most  of  the  mason 
work  done  on  the  canal,  has  contributed  to  swell 
our  disbursements  beyond  our  original  estimates. 
This  material  has  been  discovered  in  the  progress 
of  our  exertions  ;  and  it  will  doubtless  hereafter  be 


16 


considered  as  nn  article  of  prime  necessity,  through- 
out our  country,  for  all  hydraulic  masonry.  Mixed 
with  clean  stticioUf  Band  and  water,  and  well  heat- 
en,  it  constitutes  a  mortar,  which  will  soon  set,  and 
thoroughly  cement  any  work  of  stone  or  brick,  in 
which  it  is  used,  under  water.  But  in  the  first  use 
of  it  we  h  ve  been  unavoidably  subjected  to  many 
expanses  which  henceforth  need  not  he  incurred. 
AVe  failed  repeatedly  in  burning,  pulve  rising  and 
miling it;  but  many  trials  have  now  shown  us  the 
way  to  succeed  in  all  these  operations.  And  all 
the  masons  in  our  employ,  though  for  some  time 
they  were  loth  to  uae  it,  from  an  opinion  which 
they  uniformly  entertained  of  its  being  rf  n»  value, 
now  regard  it  as  a  discovery  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance. It  sets  much  quicker,  and  b*  comes  strong- 
er in  the  air,  (ton  com  non  lime  mortar ;  and  under 
water,  where  common  mortar  w  ill  not  set  at  all,  it 
begins  to  set  immediately,  and  in  a  few  weeks  ac- 
quires givat  hardness  and  tenacity.  It  may  he  quar- 
ried with  the  same  labor  as  common  limestone,  and 
is  known  to  occur  in  the  greatest  abundance,  in 
Madison,  Onondaga,  Ca\uga,  Ontario  and  Genesee 
counties:  its  colour  is  a  yellowish  grey,  before  it  is 
burnt,  and  burning  inclines  it  to  a  buff.  Jt  is  softer 
than  common  limestone,  and  when  burnt,  about  ten 
per  cent  lighter.  It  will  not  slack,  but  must  be  pul- 
verized by  pounding  or  grinding,  and  when  reduced 
to  powd  r,  its  bulk  is  not  materially  increased. 
The  quantity  of  sand  mixed  with  it  should  be  about 
half  that  of  the  lime  in  bulk.  Fiom  its  not  swel- 
ling, by  being  pulverized — from  t he  exp  nse  of 
grinding  it,  and  from  the  greatly  diminished  quan- 


17 

lily  of  sand  which  if  will  bear,  it  will  he  at  once  per- 
ceived, thai  its  use  will  always  be  attended  with 
great  r  expense  than  that  of  comm  »n  lime.  Still 
it  may  be  used,  at  a  v>  ry  small  proportion  of  the 
cost  of  any  other  material  n>w  ktiown  to  answer 
the  same  purpose  ;  and  as  it  abounds  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  canal,  it  will  probably  soon  supply  a  great 
amount  of  tonnage  tor  transportati  n,  by  the  de- 
mand which  will  arise  for  it,Trom  without  this  state. 

VIII.  Our  efforts  have  been  much  retarded,  and 
rendered  more  exp  nsive,  in  completing  the  middle 
section,  by  sickness.  For  about  thirty-five  miles, 
the  canal  line  runs  at  no  great  distance  from  the  Se- 
neca  liver,  which  in  that  part  of  its  course,  except 
at  Jack's  rift,  is  a  sluggish  stream.  The  waters  of 
this  river  flow  through  a  region  of  the  rankest  ve- 
getable luxuriance,  which,  in  the  spring  of  the  year, 
they  overspread  to  the  extent  of  many  thousand 
acres  more  than  they  do  in  the  fall.  In  common 
seasons,  the  autumn  brings  with  it  some  danger  to 
the  health  of  the  people  of  this  region.  The  ex- 
cessive and  long  continued  heat  of  the  last  season, 
subjected  them  to  extensive  and  distressing  sick- 
ness. Between  the  middle  of  July  and  the  first  of 
October,  about  one  thousand  men,  employed  on 
the  canal,  from  Salina  to  beneca  river,  were  disa- 
bled from  labor  by  this  cause.  Most  of  these  men 
recovered,  but  the  houses  in  which  they  were  col- 
lected, for  near  three  months  presented  a  most  dis- 
couraging spr ctacle.  And  although  great  exertions 
were  made  to  supply  the  place  of  such  laborers  as 
became  diseased,  by  fresh  hands,  it  was  impossible 
to  prevent  some  jobs  from  being  entirely  abandon- 

3 


18 


ed  for  several  weeks.  And  where  labor  was  never 
wholly  intermitted,  it  was  much  less  efficient,  and 
the  means  of  it  were  essentially  lessened.  The  ne- 
cessary effect  of  this  was,  to  protract  the  entire  ex- 
ecution of  the  work,  to  a  much  later  period  than  it 
would  otherwise  have  been  extended  to,  and  this 
inevitably  increased  the  expense.  Late  in  the  sea- 
son there  were  frequent  interruptions  of  labor,  by 
slight  falls  of  rain  and  ^now*  And  these  interrup- 
tions were  particulaily  injurious,  in  reference  to 
much  of  the  extra  service  done  at  this  period. 
When  the  days  had  become  short,  and  the  earth 
was  every  where  covered  wilh  mud,  no  resolution 
or  ingenuity  could  make  the  work  advance  rapid- 
ly, in  proportion  to  the  means  employed.  Every 
effort  was  clogged.  The  excavation  of  difficult 
places,  which  had  been  left  incomplete,  was  slow 
and  laborious.  And  the  performance  of  all  those 
little  job?,  that  could  not  be  omitted  in  bestowing, 
the  last  finish  upon  the  works  previous  to  their  ac- 
tual use,  was  attended  with  tenfold  difficulty. 

It  would  not  be  reasonable  to  expect,  that  hu- 
man foresight  could  exactly  adapt  the  provision  of 
materials,  to  all  the  exigencies  of  works  so  exten- 
sive, various  and  unusual,  as  those  of  which  we  had 
the  charge,  in  the  first  contracts.  Some  deficien- 
cies of  this  kind,  were  experienced,  which  it  was 
expensive  to  supply.  But  the  material  supplies 
have  all  been  made,  and  with  the  exception  of  a 
little  lead,  with  which  the  iron  cramps  in  some  of 
the  stone  work,  remain  to  be  secured,— the  coping 
of  the  Owasco  creek  aqueduct — some  labor  re- 
quired upon  the  feeder  from  Butternut  creek — and 


/ 


19 

two  small  embankments  on  the  south  side  of  the 
canal,  which  have  not  heretofore  been  constructed, 
only  because  they  were  not  decided  to  be  necessa- 
ry, until  after  water  was  admitted  into  the  canal,  the 
whole  of  the  middle  section  has  been  completed. 
The  expense  of  all  these  operations  cannot  proba- 
bly exceed  three  thousand  dollars,  and  they  will  not 
obstruct  the  navigation,  while  they  are  going  on. 

The  side  cut  out  at  Salina,  is  one  mile  and  forty- 
three  chains  in  length,  and  it  was  estimated,  as  is 
stated  in  our  report  of  last  winter,  to  cost  $6000,  It 
has  been  entirely  completed  with  great  fidelity  and 
beauty,  at  an  expense  of  $6044  07 ;  and  being  ad- 
ded to  the  middle  section,  which  is  near  94  and  1-2 
miles  long,  we  have  an  extent  of  96  miles  of  artifi- 
cial navigation,  commenced  and  completed  since  the 
4th  of  July,  1817,  at  an  average  expense,  per  mile, 
including  every  thing,  of  $11792. 

In  a  canal  of  such  length,  passing  through  so  great 
a  variety  of  soils,  and  over  such  numerous  streams, 
which  afford  the  only  possible  channels  through 
which  several  considerable  lakes,  innumerable 
springs,  and  a  very  extensive  land  drain,  will  neces- 
sarily discharge  their  waters,  and  which  are  yet, 
from  the  extent  of  uncleared  land  adjacent  to  them, 
subject  to  great  obstructions  from  an  accumulation 
of  float-wood,  and  of  course,  wherever  these  ob- 
structions take  place,  to  the  pressure  of  a  heavy  head 
of  water  above  them,  and  a  current  of  proportionate 
violence  below,  it  will  not  be  prudent  to  calculate 
upon  entire  exemption  from  injurious  casualties.  A 
breach  has  been  effected,  and  is  now  open,  in  the 
north  bank  of  the  canal,  at  Oriskany,  which  it  will 


20 


take  a  fortnight  in  (lie  spring  to  repair.  Other 
breaches  may  be  expected,  though  we  have  spared 
do  labor  in  our  pow  r,  which  We  deemed  nece  ssary, 
to  provide  agajixst  thetn.  And  in  addition  to  the 
secmiu  which  I  he  whole  line  derives  from  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  is  constructed  and  guarded,  we  have 
divided  it  into  five  sections,  and  assigned  to  each  an 
experienced  and  vigilant  sopei  i.itcndant,  whose  duty 
it  is  coris  antly  to  watch  for  its  safe  keeping,  and 
w  henever  dang-  r  threatens  it  of  any  kind,  to  use  his 
iil.rn  st  means  to  ward  it  off. 

The  (  anal  commissioners  during  the  pa.»t  season, 
have  limited  their  dishurs*  ments  for  all  labor  in  the 
actual  construction  of  the  (anal  to  the  middle  sec. 
tion.  But  they  have  employed  exploring  parties, 
on  both  the  western  and  eastern  sections,  i  eiween 
the  Seneca  and  G<  nese<  rivers,  Canvass  White,  Esq. 
88  engineer,  has  iiad  ihe  charge  <>f  a  pai  t\,  which  has 
been  engaged  (or  s<  v-  ral  months  in  1«  veiling  over 
and  surveying  different  routes  for  the  canal  line. 
Tin  se  labors  he  has  performed  much  to  our  satisfac- 
tion, and  having  pr<  sented  a  ?iew  of  them  to  a  meet- 
ing of  our  b  »ard,  held  in  October  last  at  L  tit  a,  we 
thereupon  decided  in  favor  of  the  louie  oiiginally 
explored  between  those  rivers,  in  ti  e  year  J8j6: 
and  a  part  of  this  route  having  first  been  definitively 
located,  the  acting  commissioners,  under  the  autho- 
rity of  a  resolution  ot  the  board,  proceeded  to  enter 
into  contracts  tor  the  construction  of  the  canal, 
through  about  tuen  y  miles  thereof.  That  portion 
of  the  line  which  i*  let  out,  exten  is  from  the  east 
bark  of  ti  e  Gei.es  e  river  to  the  town  oi  i';Jm\ra, 
from  which,  to  Seneca  river,  we  hope  early  in  the 


21 


approaching  season,  to  place  the  whole  line  under 
contract.  The  zea!  for  engaging  in  this  work  has 
suffered  no  abatement ;  many  of  the  old  contractors, 
and  other  persons  of  enterprise  and  responsibility, 
have  entered  into  agreements  with  us  ;  and  very  ma- 
py  respectable  applications  are  set  ungiahfied. 
The  t^  rms  o^  these  new  contracts  a?e  at  least  as  fa- 
vorable to  the  state  as  any  heretofore  obtained  :  and 
one  of  them  requires  that  the  whole  work  shall  be 
camph  ted  b\  the  first  of  September,  1821.  These 
contracts  are  dated  in  December  last,  an<i  several  of 
them  are  now  in  the  process  of  vig  >r«ms  execution. 

From  the  Genesee  river  to  the  Seneca,  at  the 
wes'ern  termination  of  the  middle  section;  there  is  a 
fail  of  near  130  feet;  ard  as  every  part  ot  a  canal 
line  may  be  better  located  in  d  scending  than  in  as- 
cending a  countn,ii  was  deemed  expedient  to  com- 
mence this  operation,  and  ti  e  construction  of  the 
western  section,  at  the  Genesee  river.  This  expe- 
diency was  r<^d<  red  more  obvious  by  the  considera- 
tion, that  the  place  of  crossing  trial  stream,  and  the 
canal  level  there,  admit  of  but  little  variation. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  canal  commissioners  above 
alluded  to,  it  was  resolved,  th  it  while  about  63  miles 
of  the  western  section  should  be  put  in  the  course  of 
construction,  i6  miles  of  the  eastern  section  also 
should  be  placed  under  contract.  This  distance 
extends  fiom  Utica  to  the  foot  of  the  Little  Falls  of 
the  .Mohawk  river,  embracing  the  most  difficult 
places  on  that  section,  above  the  Schoharie  creek. 
Eight  miles  *>f  it  will  be  made  in  continuation  of  the 
Rome  level,  which  before  exceeded  fifty-eight  miles 
in  length!  and  these  eight  miles  have  been  contract: 


22 

ed  for  at  reasonable  prices,  by  good  men,  some  of 
whom  are  no.v  at  work  upon  them. 

Valentine  Gill,  Esq.  has  been  employed  as  engi- 
neer, with  the  necessary  assistants,  to  explore  the 
country,  in  reference  to  the  best  establishment  of 
the  canal  line,  from  Gannet's  mill  pond  in  Palmyra, 
with  which  the  old  level  was  connected,  westerly  to 
the  Genesee  river,  at  a  point  about  twelve  miles 
south  of  Rochester,  and  thence  westerly  to  Buffalo 
creek.  The  easterly  part  of  Mr.  Gill's  line  has  been 
rej(  cted,  if)  favor  of  the  more  northerly  route  ;  hut 
lie  thinks  that  a  line  from  Rochester  may  be  run 
southwesterly,  so  as  to  intersect  with  his  line  west  of 
the  Genesee  river,  and  from  the  point  of  intersec- 
tion be  carried  through  the  counties  of  Genesee  and 
Niagara,  to  a  junction  with  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie, 
south  of  the  village  of  Buflalo.  The  great  objec- 
tion to  a  southern  route,  through  the  Holland  pur- 
chase, is,  the  fear  of  a  deficiency  of  water  to  supply  it, 
as  such  a  route  must  necessarily  be  carried  far  above 
ti  e  level  of  Lake  Erie.  Mr.  Gill's  summit  level  is 
about  94  feet  above  Lake  Erie  ;  but  he  is  of  opinion, 
that  it  may  be  extended  more  than  forty  miles,  so  as 
to  embrace  the  waters  of  Wescoy,  of  Allen's,  of 
Tonnewanta,  of  Ellicott's,  and  of  Little  Buffalo 
creeks,  which  he  thinks,  in  the  driest  season,  would 
furnish  a  copious  supply.  In  a  country  so  new,  and  of 
which  a  great  part  is  still  covered  by  standing  timber, 
the  interests  of  the  canal  require,  that  great  precau- 
tion should  be  taken  in  the  definitive  establishment 
of  the  canal  line.  It  will  be  proper  that  other  ex- 
aminations should  be  prosecuted  through  the  coun- 
try west  of  the  Genesee  river,  previously  to  a  final 


decision  of  the  route.  The  maps  and  report  of  Mr* 
Gill  are  herewith  presented. 

In  discharge  of  that  part  of  their  duty  which  re- 
lates to  the  harbor  of  Buffalo,  the  canal  comm;ssion- 
ers  employed  David  Thomas,  of  Cayuga  county,  to 
make  the  necessary  surveys,  and  report  to  them  the 
result.  This  service  has  been  faithfully  rendered, 
and  the  practicability  of  the  construction  of  a  har- 
bor there,  at  a  moderate  expense,  seems  to  be  suffi- 
ciently established.  The  report  of  Mr.  Thomas, 
together  with  his  map  and  estimates  of  expense,  is 
herewith  presented.  Whether  such  a  harbor,  when 
ii  is  constructed,  should  be  paid  for  out  of  the  canal 
fund,  if  appears  to  us  that  it  would  be  premature  to 
determine,  before  the  route  and  termination  of  the 
canal  is  definitively  settled  in  that  neighborhood  ; 
and  we  do  not  consider  the  surveys  which  have  yet 
been  made,  as  affording  all  the  information  which  is 
desirable  in  order  to  such  settlement. 

At  an  early  day  of  the  last  season,  it  was  feared, 
that  the  amount  of  money  subject  to  our  order, 
might  not  be  more  than  sufficient  to  complete  the 
middle  section  of  the  Erie  canal,  and  that  part  of 
the  Champlain  canal  which  had  been  commenced. 
Hence  we  determined  to  confine  our  expenditure 
to  these  parts  of  the  canals,  except  as  to  such  sums 
as  might  be  requisite  to  fit  out  and  pay  the  necessa- 
ry exploring  parties.  Such  parties,  the  legislature 
bound  us  to  provide,  for  the  examination  of  Buffalo 
harbor  and  the  Oswego  river.  And  if  the  canals 
were  to  be  continued,  it  was  obviously  necessary 
that  a  part  of  their  routes  should  be  fixed  beyond 
the  limits  contracted  for,  before  those  limits  should 


24 


}ye  entirely  completed.  For,  otherwise,  a  wholg 
season  would  have  heen  lost  lo  tlx  se  undertakings, 
in  the  course  of  whieh  the  public*  property  connect- 
ed with  them  would  have  been  wasting, the  most  ex- 
perienced and  efficient  contractor  would  have  sus- 
tained great  loss,  in  tools  and  other  prepa»ations 
made  with  a  view  to  their  continued  en^ajrement  on 
the  canals,  and  ilwy  must  have  betaken  themselves 
to  othei  employments.  These  results,  and  others 
equally  pernicious,  would  have  heen  inevitable.  The 
total  amount  of  disbursements  for  exploring  parties 
last  year,  is  £8,400; 

But  the  unlbii  seen  cauces  of  expense  Ii *  retofore 
indicati  d  as  unavoidably  Connected  with  bringing 
all  our  contracts  to  a  «  lose,  have  greatly  exceeded 
our  exportation :  and  we  have  been  compelled  to 
anticipate  £i  22,500  of  the  funds  of  the  present  \  ear. 

Our  contracts  upon  the  middle  section  were  all  to 
have  been  fully  performed  by  the  fust  of  October 
last,  and  as  soon  as  they  W(  re  performed,  all  the 
monies  earned  upon  them  became  due.  If  these 
sums  had  not  been  paid,  every  contractor  would 
have  been  ruined:  and  anxious  as  we  were,  from 
the  most  pressing  considerations;  that  of  safety  to 
the  canal,  which  incomplete,  would  have  been  much 
more  exposed  to  injury  from  the  frosts  of  the  winter 
and  the  floods  of  the  spring;  that  of  economy  to  the 
contractors,  who  could  not  be  expected  to  quit  their 
work  when  they  had  nearly  accomplished  it,  and  af- 
terwards return  to  it  at  great  expense,  because  our 
disbursements  were  likely  to  exceed  our  estimates ; 
and  that  of  duty  to  the  public,  who  have  a  paramount 
interest  in  having  the  canal  navigable  as  soon  as  pos- 


25 


iible,  in  order  that  it  may  speedily  produce  profita- 
ble returns,  we  could  not  hesitate  to  incur  the  re- 
sponsibility of  such  anticipation.  The  money  was 
borrowed  at  six  percent  interest,  and  on  the  fifth  of 
January  last,  cer  tificates  of  stock  were  issued  by  the 
commissioners  of  the  canal  fund,  to  cover  it.  The 
interest  of  this  money,  from  the  time  of  its  being 
loaned  up  to  the  time  ofissuing  the  stock,  amounts 
to  §1 775  03,  which  sum  we -solicit  y>ur  honorable 
body  to  authorise  the  comptroller  to  place  to  our 
credit,  as  we  have  paid  it  for  the  reasons  above  stated. 

Deduct  $  122,500  with  the  interst  on  loans  of  the 
preceding  and  present  years,  from  $600,000,  the  a- 
mount  of  the  permanent  legislative  appropriation, 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  little  more  than  %  100,000 
wall  remain  applicable  to  the  construction  of  the  ca- 
nals for  the  ensuing  season.  From  this  sum  a  fur- 
ther deduction,  which  may  be  considerable,  but  of 
which  the  amount  is  yet  unascertained,  must  be 
made  for  the  purchase  of  the  rights  of  the  western 
inland  lock  navigation  company,  with  whose  works 
we  shall  so  interfere  at  Wood  creek,  whenever  we 
fill  our  canal,  as  to  render  such  purcSiase  expedient, 

After  these  deductions,  we  think  the  money  re- 
maining subject  to  our  control,  will  not  be  adequate 
to  the  due  prosecution  of  the  canals.  We  therefore 
recommend,  that  so  soon  as  the  amount  of  money 
to  be  paid  to  the  western  inland  navigation  compa- 
ny shall  be  ascertained,  according  to  law,  it  shall  be 
paid  by  the  commissioners  of  the  canal  fund  in  cer- 
tificates of  stock,  to  be  issued  by  them  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  bearing  an  interest  of  five  per  cent.  And 

we  further  recommend,  that  there  be  appropriated 

4 


to  the  canale,  by  law,  for  the  present  year,  in  order 
to  supph  the  <\ef\c\cncy  of  funds  occasioned  by  (he 
anticipation  afoiesaid,  and  in  addition  to  th»  amount 
of  stock  last  above  mentioned,  the  sum  of  $122,500 
over  and  above  the  sums  now  appropriated  to  them. 

As  fast  as  the  canals  are  rendered  navigabh,  they 
will  be  lianle  to  injuries  of  vaious  kinds.  The 
banks  may  be  broken,  the  fences  may  be  thrown 
down,  the  waste  uates  may  be  opened  or  shut  im- 
properly, the  passage  may  be  obstructed,  and  all 
the  works  may  be  it  faced,  and  many  of  them  es- 
sentially impaired,  both  by  carelessness  and  by  ma- 
lice. We  therefore  recommend  the  passage  of  a 
law,  imposing  suitable  p<  nalties,  for  every  injury  to 
whieh  ti  cv  may  be  exposed. 

The  experiment^  that  have  been  attempted  at  na- 
vigation on  i  ur  canals,  have  been  eniirely  satisfac- 
tory to  every  witness  of  them.  The  novelty  of  see- 
ing targe  boits  drawn  by  ho.ses,  upon  waters  aitifi- 
eially  conduc  ted — through  c  ultivated  fields,  forests 
and  s  a  amps,  over  ravines,  creeks  and  morasses,  and 
from  one  elevation  to  another,  by  means  of  ample, 
beautiful  and  substantial  locks,  has  been  eminently 
exhilarating.  The  precision  of  the  lev>  Is,  the  soli- 
dity of  the  banks,  the  regularity  of  the  curves,  the 
symmetrv  of  the  numerous  and  massive  stone  works, 
the  depth  of  the  excavati  u  in  some  places,  the  extent 
of  the  embankments  in  others,  and  the  i  npression 
pr  duced  ev»  rv  where  along  the;  line,  by  the  visible 
effects  of  immense  labor,  have  uniformly  afforded 
gratification  mingled  with  surprise.  1  he  e  se  with 
wl  ich  the  canals  may  be  approached,  and  the  faci- 
lity of  transportation  on  their  waters,  will  recon> 


2? 


iiiend  them  to  immediate  and  extensive  use.  And 
every  result  hitherto  ascertained  experimentally, 
in  relation  to  them,  fully  justifies  the  lavor  with 
which  preceding  legislatures  have  regarded  them, 
and  exhibits  the  most  perfect  and  irresistible  claims 
to  the  steady  and  liberal  patronage  of  your  honora- 
ble body. 

In  reference  to  the  Champlain  Canal — 

During  the  last  season  the  works  on  the  Cham- 
plain canal  have  been  prosecuted  with  zeal  and  ac- 
tivity, by  the  several  contractors  to  whom  they  were 
committed.  The  locks,  the  waste  weirs,  the  cul- 
verts, and  the  remaining  parts  of  th^  excavation  and 
embankment,  have  been  so  far  completed  as  to  ren- 
der the  canal  fit  for  navigation.  On  admitting  the 
"water  in  December  last,  it  was  ascertained  that 
both  levels  are  perfectly  correct. 

Owing  to  a  deficiency  of  funds,  the  canal  has  not 
been  fenced;  and  this, it  is  believed,  is  the  most  ex- 
pensive part  of  the  work  which  remains  to  be  done. 
A  towing  path  along  the  margin  of  Wood  creek  is 
lo  be  constructed.  There  are  two  places  ih  the 
vicinity  of  the  village  of  Fort  Ann,  where  the  canal 
passes  on  the  slope  of  a  clay  hill,  and  where  the 
earth  below  the  canal  showed  a  disposition  to  slip 
after  the  canal  was  filled  with  water.  Xh  as;,vres 
"were  immediately  taken  to  secure  those  slips,  but 
the  work  was  arrested  by  the  frost  before  it  was 
completed,  and  it  will  be  necessary  to  finish  it  as 
early  in  the  spring  as  practicable.  The  bank*  of 
the  canal  admit  but  very  little  water  to  escape 
through  them ;  and  it  is  believed  that  the  solidity 


22 


and  compactness  which  they  will  have  acquired  ii* 
another  season,  will  render  them  impervious  to  wa- 
ter. The  supply  of  water  on  the  summit  level  has 
answered  the  expectations  which  had  formerly  been 
indulged;  and  it  is  believed,  that  with  ordinary  sea- 
sons a  feeder  will  Dot  be  wanted  in  many  years. 
Although  the  market  at  the  present  time  is  unfa- 
Turable  for  the  lambering  business,  yet  from  the 
best  information  which  can  be  obtained,  it  is  ex- 
pected, in  case  no  accident  should  happen  to  the 
canal,  that  nearly  half  a  million  of  boards  and  plank 
will  be  passed  through  it  the  ensuing  season. 

In  the  report  of  the  I8lh  March,  1817,  the  con- 
struction of  the  canal,  from  the  lake  to  the  Hudson, 
was  estimated  to  cost  $2oO,000.  This  estimate  was 
made  on  the  supposition,  that  the  canal  should  be 
"  thirty  feet  wide  at  the  surface,  twenty  feet  at  the 
bottom,  and  three  feet  deep  ;  and  the  locks  to  be 
seventy- five  feet  lonj;,  and  ten  feet  wide  in  the 
clear."  Since  that  period,  for  reasons  which  are  as- 
signed in  the  report  of  the  31st  January,  1818,  the 
canal  commissioners  dnt«  rmined  to  enlarge  the  di- 
me nsions  of  th<-  canal,  so  tnat  it  should  be  forty  feet 
wide  at  the  sui face,  twenty-eight  at  ihe  bottom,  and 
four  feet  deep,  and  the  locks  to  be  ninety  feet  long 
and  fourteen  feet  wide  in  the  clear.  This  enlarge- 
ment of  the  works  aided  about  one  third  to  the  cost 
of  construction,  and  the  original  estimate  increased 
by  the  same  ratio,  would  be  g333,000. 

There  has  been  paid  already,  towads  the  con- 
struction of  the  works,  $232,268  86,  and  on  account 
of  appraisements  which  were  n<>t  inc'u  led  in  the  ri- 
oinal  estimates,  the  sum  of  $33,876  4^.    The  addi- 


29 


iional  expense  of  fencing  the  canal  and  finishing  all 
the  works,  will  not,  it  is  believed,  exceed  $25,000 
or  $30,000,  so  that  this  section  of  the  canal  will  be 
constructed  for  $ 2  >5,00  J  or  $2  i0,000,  a  diminution 
from  the  estimate  of  more  than  twenty-eight  per  cent 
In  order  to  prevent  any  unjust  impression  from 
being  made  by  the  preceding  statement,  as  to  the 
comparative  economy  with  which  the  middle  section 
of  the  Erie  canal  has  been  constructed,  it  ought 
here  to  be  observed,  that  when  the  original  estimate 
of  the  expense  of  opening  the  Champlain  canal  was 
made,  there  were  no  such  data  of  rn'mutn  calculation 
before  the  Commissioners,  as  were  furnished  on  the 
middle  section  of  the  Erie  canal.  From  Utica  to 
the  Seneca  river,  the  aggregate  expense  was  made- 
up  of  a  separate  valuation  of  the  cost  of  every  mile, 
that  is,  there  was  a  distinc  t  estimate  for  every  mile 
of  the  grubbing  and  clearing,  of  the  number  of  cubic 
yards  of  excavation,  and  of  embankment,  with  the 
price  per  yard  of  each,  and  of  the  bridges,  culverts, 
aqueducts  and  locks,  wherever  they  were  deemed 
necessary.  While  on  the  Champlain  canal,  it  was  ne- 
cessarily otherwise  from  the  character  of  the  returns 
made  by  the  engineer,  Col.  Garin.  These  re  rns  did 
not  enable  us  accurately  to  calculate  the  quantity  of 
excavation  or  embankment,  the  number  ot  aque- 
ducts, culverts,  waste- weirs  or  bridges. 

DE  WITT  CLINTON, 

STEPHEN  VAN  RENSSELAER, 

SAMUEL  YOUNG, 

MYRON  HOLLEY, 

HEiNRY  SEYMOUR, 
Albany,  IdthFeb.  1820, 


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A«ff< 


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